GRAND RAPIDS -- Owners
of the S.S. Badger must quit dumping coal ash into Lake Michigan by Jan. 1, 2015,
according to legal documents filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The documents, filed Friday, March 22, in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan in Grand Rapids, are a substantial development in a controversy that has
continued for years.

The documents include a consent agreement that will allow the S.S. Badger and its operator, Ludington-based Lake Michigan Carferry Inc., to continue dumping a limited amount of coal ash into Lake Michigan during the 2013 and 2014 sailing seasons. But the agreement spells out that the vessel will no longer be allowed to dump coal ash after Jan. 1, 2015.

The historic S.S. Badger operates with a coal-fired engine and the vessel had been allowed to dump the ash into
Lake Michigan, which the EPA says is a hazard to the lake's water quality.

The document does not grant the Badger a permit to sail, but
lays out the process for the ship's owners to obtain a permit.

A timeline with fees also outline the Badger's transition away from dumping the coal are also
included in the document.